S N Traders vs. The Assistant Commissioner
Held
The High Court set aside the assessment order, holding that the absence of the assessing officer's signature rendered it invalid. The matter was remanded to the Assessing Officer for fresh consideration after providing an opportunity of hearing, conditional on the petitioner depositing 20% of the disputed tax.
Facts
A trader challenged an ex-parte GST assessment order for FY 2022-23, contending it lacked the assessing officer's signature and was not properly served, despite being uploaded to the portal. The petitioner also cited difficulties in accessing the online portal.
Key Issues
The key legal issues were the validity of a GST assessment order lacking the assessing officer's signature and the sufficiency of service by merely uploading the order to the GST portal.
Sections Cited
Section 160, Section 169, Section 169(1)(d)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
APHC010230212026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3529] WEDNESDAY, THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R RAGHUNANDAN RAO THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE T.C.D.SEKHAR WRIT PETITION NO: 12053/2026 Between:
S N TRADERS, 4-400-B-12, PYARA NAGAR, NEAR MSR MOVIE LAND, MADANAPALIE, ANNAMAYYA DISTRICT,
ANDHRA PRADESH - 517325, REP. BY ITS PROPRIETOR SHAIK NAZEER BASHA.
...PETITIONER AND 1. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, (ST), MADANAPALIE CIRCLE, KADAPA DIVISION, 15/15, G.K.REDDY COMPLEX, BEHIND MAMATHA KALYANA MANDAPAM, MADANAPALLY, ANNAMAYYA DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH -517325. 2. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REP. BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT, REVENUE (CT) DEPARTMENT, A.P. SECRETARIAT, VELAGAPUDI, GUNTUR DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH.
THE UNION OF INDIA, REP. BY THE SECRETARY (FINANCE), MINISTRY OF FINANCE, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI - 110 001. ...RESPONDENT(S): Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased top
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Reproduced from the public record of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.